A LIVERPOOL housing association has won a top accolade at an awards ceremony for Britain's Chinese community.

A LIVERPOOL housing association has won a top accolade at an awards ceremony for Britain's Chinese community.

Pines Court Housing Association won the Pearl Award for Business Enterprise at an awards evening in London this week.

It was heralded for its achievements and contribution to the positive development and profile of the Chinese community.

The Pearl Awards are the UK's first awards created to recognise and celebrate the achievements of the Chinese community in Britain. They were made in a range of six categories including the arts, media, sport, services to community, and business enterprise.

Nelson Street-based Pine Court was founded in the 1980s to provides homes for those in need in Merseyside.

Timothy Siu Leung, a founder member of the association and its chairman since 1995, noticed there was a lack of Chinese people from the social rented housing sector.

He lobbied for bilingual services to give Chinese people access to facilities available to the community.

Mr Leung also wanted to stimulate cultural tolerance and understanding and set lettings targets of 50% to minorities on all Pine Court housing schemes.

The association has grown to provide 400 homes for people in Merseyside.

William Ong, founder of the Manchester-based Pearl Foundation which organised the awards, said: "The winners make inspiring role models for the Chinese and their achievements have been brought to the notice of a wider public.

Lord Chan MBE of Oxton, the first Chinese peer in the UK, is patron of the awards.